The Lights Stay On

Today, roughly 32 million* people live in Ukraine, where every day is filled with challenges – from blackouts, polluted rivers, and mined fields, to destroyed homes and attacks by drones and missiles.

But life does not stop, and light lives on – carried by those who refuse to fade into the shadows. Their light is a beacon that shines so others may find their way home.

Every illuminated window in this exhibition tells a story – of someone who persists in making change, of someone who stands as a pillar of the community, or of someone who creates spaces of life amidst devastation. They are living proof that the future can be reclaimed as long as we do not allow darkness to consume us.

The visual concept of the exhibition draws inspiration from René Magritte’s L’état de veille (The Waking State), where glowing windows appear in the sky among drifting clouds – a surreal play between presence and absence. In this exhibition, the image gains new meaning: for Ukrainians, these glowing frames portray bombed buildings, where the walls are gone and only the open sky can be seen through the shattered windows. Through it all, the windows continue to shine.

The lights stay on.

The photos and stories featured in this exhibition highlight the breadth of the partnership between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.

UNDP is grateful to its partners at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the European Investment Bank, and the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, for their commitment and support to Ukraine’s recovery and development on its path toward EU integration.

The exhibition was organized with financial support from the EU and UNDP. The stories and photographs were prepared in collaboration with The Ukrainians Media, while the creative concept was developed by Authera. This exhibition’s contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU or UNDP.

Photo credits: Danylo Antoniuk, Ivan Antypenko, Kostiantyn Chernichkin, Oleksandr Himanov, Kateryna Klochko, Halyna Kuchmanych, Danylo Pavlov, Valentyna Polishchuk, Viacheslav Ratynskyi, Maryna Romanenko, Dmytro Smolenko / Reporters / UNDP in Ukraine

*According to the International Monetary Fund

Ihor Haievyi, Rivne Oblast

When the destruction of the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast forced the evacuation of its Vocational Training Centre, director Ihor Haievyi refused to let decades of work collapse. With support from the EU and UNDP, he relocated the school to the village of Hoshcha in northwestern Ukraine, saving his staff, equipment, and mission.

In a former polyclinic, classrooms and dormitories have been rebuilt; a small café now welcomes visitors, and training for cooks, welders, and mechanics has picked up where it left off. Today, 640 students continue their profession-focused education in safety — proof that even in displacement, communities can rebuild opportunity and keep the future alive.

In the Hlyboka community of Chernivtsi Oblast, Valentyna Romaniuk is determined that no one should face loneliness. With support from the EU and UNDP, her team created the Social Adaptation Space and established there the “University of the Third Age,” where older residents and displaced people gather to learn, share stories, and rediscover joy in one another.

For those unable to leave home, a specially equipped minibus winds through village roads, bringing care to their doorsteps — a haircut, repair, or simply the warmth of human presence. Together, these efforts restore dignity and sense of belonging to the people who need it most.

At 27, Ivan Shepelev from Kropyvnytskyi has dedicated himself to clearing mines with Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. With essential safety equipment provided through EU and UNDP support, Ivan and his team have been able to reach areas where the Government of Ukraine regained control and confront hidden threats. He has worked in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, and Kharkiv, at one time uncovering dozens of mines in a single orchard.

For Ivan, each mine destroyed is more than a task completed — it is a life spared, a family kept whole, and a step toward a Ukraine free from the shadows of war.

In the community of Horodnia in Chernihiv Oblast where war left infrastructure shattered, Valentyna Tsyrkun saw a simple but urgent need: access to laundry. Heavy blankets, carpets, and winter clothes were impossible for many households to wash. Valentyna created Beauty Free, a community laundry that not only serves residents but provides free washing for large families facing hardship.

For her, it is more than clean clothes — it is dignity and relief in everyday life. With support from the EU and UNDP, Valentyna’s initiative has grown into a hub of care and solidarity, inspiring others to launch projects that strengthen the community.

In war-torn Donetsk Oblast, the need for psychological support is constant. Yet many families and children cannot travel far to reach it, even as grief and fear weigh heavily on them. To meet this need, psychologist Anna Humeniuk and her State Emergency Service of Ukraine colleagues received a specially equipped vehicle and recovery training through EU and UNDP support.

Now, they bring mobile counselling to remote settlements and humanitarian hubs, while also learning ways to protect their own well-being. For Anna, the greatest reward is the calm returning to people’s faces — a sign for her that she is exactly where she needs to be.

In Ordó-Vasylivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the full-scale invasion turned obtaining water into a daily struggle. The construction of a central supply system was halted, and after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed, water quality deteriorated sharply, leaving thousands without safe drinking water.

For pensioner Hanna Borozniak, caring for her ill husband, even fetching a few litres became exhausting. With EU and UNDP support, three modern filtration stations and a water truck now provide clean water to the community. For Hanna and her neighbours, this means not only health and dignity, but also the reassurance that, together, they can endure and rebuild.

With the full-scale war, the number of people needing rehabilitation has skyrocketed — from older patients to young veterans whose lives have been upended by strokes and injuries. For specialists like 23-year-old Polina Tiutiunnyk from Dnipro, the pressure has been immense, and exhaustion nearly pushed her to abandon the profession. Support from the EU and UNDP gave her the revitalization she needed to continue.

Through specialized training, Polina gained new skills, confidence, and purpose. Now she helps patients recover step by step, proving that with the right support, lives can be rebuilt. Watching a stroke patient move from silence to walking and smiling again is, for her, the most moving evidence of what perseverance can achieve.

War makes it harder for schools to stay warm. Renovations stall, energy becomes unstable, and gas grows too expensive — leaving old classrooms freezing just when they are needed most. In Miziakivski Khutory in Vinnytsia Oblast, the village lyceum was both a place of learning and a shelter for displaced families, yet children sat through lessons in coats and gloves.

With funding from the EU, its bank — the European Investment Bank, and support from UNDP, the school was fully renovated and insulated, with new roofs and bright facades. For principal Alla Markevych, once a pupil here herself, it means her 175 students can finally learn in warmth and dignity.

After a mine blast in Donetsk Oblast, 23-year-old veteran Artem Buzalov endured 25 operations and a long recovery abroad. Returning to Ukraine, he settled in Chernivtsi, where his mother was battling cancer. After her passing, Artem found himself not only grieving and dealing with disability, but also overwhelmed by bureaucracy.

With support from the EU and UNDP, specialists from the Rokada foundation stepped in. They helped him access medical care, secure orthopaedic shoes, apply for benefits, and find housing adapted to his needs — extracting him from a maze of bureaucracy. For Artem, every step through the process became a step back into life itself.

In the midst of war, life does not stop — and needs must still be met, including for those living with disabilities. In Pryluky, Chernihiv Oblast, retired teacher Nina Hladenka has spent her life caring for her 45-year-old daughter Olena, who has cerebral palsy. But in wartime, isolation becomes an even heavier burden.

With support from the EU and UNDP, a Social Adaptation Space now offers families like Nina’s a place to connect, learn, and share moments of joy. For Olena, it brings activity and friendship; for Nina, it is a place of community that makes each week feel a little brighter.

In frontline Zaporizhzhia, hospital director Hanna Makarenkova has faced some of the war’s darkest days — from treating complex blast injuries to caring for countless civilians evacuated from Mariupol and other devastated towns. Since the full-scale invasion, her team has provided help to more than 25,000 patients, often working under bombardment and power outages.

With support from the EU and UNDP, the hospital received new independent power units that keep life-saving equipment running even when the grid fails. For Hanna, this support brings more than electricity — it gives her and her colleagues the sense that their work is appreciated, and that in their struggle to save lives, they are not alone.

In war-damaged Mykolaiv, constant effort is being put into restoring the city. These efforts are supported by the EU, and the governments of Denmark and Sweden as well as UNDP, through the establishment of the Recovery and Development Office. There, city official Viktor Sikalenko helps coordinate the work that turns the city’s most urgent needs — from clean water to reliable energy and reintegration support for veterans — into real projects.

Hospitals are already running on solar power, and new energy solutions are being designed so that no single blackout can bring the city to a halt. For Viktor, the office stands as a model of how local determination, with international backing, can drive recovery.

When Chernihiv came under siege, ambulance driver Anton Atroshchenko lived at work — racing through bombardments, carrying the wounded, and knowing lives depended on every turn of the wheel. As the war deepened, he and the other drivers took on greater responsibility in saving lives.

With EU and UNDP support, Anton and his colleagues received advanced training to qualify as emergency medical technicians. He learned to act in the crucial first minutes of resuscitation, from chest compressions to administering injections. Now Anton is not only vital to rescue operations behind the wheel but also part of the medical care that saves lives.

In Kryvyi Rih, many people with disabilities, older residents, and families affected by war cannot reach government offices to process documents. For them, every certificate or application can feel like an impossible barrier. With EU and UNDP support, the city’s administrative service centre now operates a modern mobile office — a van equipped with workstations and digital tools to bring services directly to people’s doors.

Iryna Matiushenko, who leads the mobile sector, often joins her colleagues on these visits, meeting people in their homes, hospitals, and even in neighbourhoods damaged by shelling. For her, each mission is simple: to lift the burden of bureaucracy when life is already hard enough.

When missiles struck the dormitory and damaged the classrooms of the Mykolaiv Higher School of Physical Education, director Olena Petrukhina was devastated. For more than two years, students trained and studied online, cut off from their school community. But with EU and UNDP support, the buildings were repaired, and a shelter was added, making it safe for children to return.

On 1 September 2024, lessons resumed at last. Today, 235 young athletes study here, many dreaming of becoming champions like the Olympians who came before them. For Olena, every child back in class carries the promise that Mykolaiv will keep raising champions.

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